February 23

Wellington to Geelong

I had very little sleep so didn't need either alarm. I crept out of the house and stood on the pavement just after 04.00 in warm and still weather. The cab picked me up and took about five minutes to reach the airport on almost empty roads. Fares must have gone up, however, as the trip cost over $20.

There was a long queue at the bag drop but I was probably there less than ten minutes. There was a similar queue at the security desk but it didn't take too long for me to pass through. I have no idea where all of the people went as the area round the café was almost empty. I was able to have a coffee and a toasted sandwich in splendid isolation. Right: Splendid isolation in the lounge

Boarding time came, we all piled aboard, and we arrived in Melbourne a couple of minutes late. Progress through immigration was confusing but reasonably quick. There was then a half hour wait for my bag. Another small delay at Biosecurity, which was painless, meant that I was through all of the formalities in about 50 minutes.

The airport bus, a bright red double decker, sped along the motorway, now road work free, and I was in Melbourne about 90 minutes after landing. Not too bad.

Had I been a bit quicker, I wouldn't have had a 40 minute wait for the train to Geelong. The man at the ticket desk told me that I had more than enough on my Miki card to cover the fare and there seemed nothing to do other than to have a long black - weakish - and a croissant. The slightly weak coffee was probably good news as I was thirsty after the flight.

The train was at the far end of the platform	I eventually walked there

My train left from Platform 3B - meaning that I had to walk up Platform 3A and half way to Geelong before boarding. The train was newish, smartish and fullish.

We started reasonably slowly but then gained speed, passing through marshalling yards, suburbs, open countryside and, finally, the industrial outskirts of Geelong. We arrived almost exactly an hour after leaving Melbourne. The tinted windows did nothing for my photography.

The station looked old but I was too encumbered with bags to take many photos. I grabbed a taxi outside and paid $10 for a ten minute ride to my motel. I'm glad I didn't try to walk as the sun was up and the temperature was already in the mid 20s. My room was ready, the cleaning lady gave me a friendly welcome and I quickly changed into shorts.

I retraced the journey of the taxi for a short while, then pointed myself towards the main shopping street. Two huge malls provided both a supermarket - saved for later - and two information centres. I collected brochures and train timetables and bought a road map at a bookshop.

Helicopter rides	An athletics meet
A large bar
A beautiful harbour	A very cold beer

Suitably equipped, I walked towards the sea. On a glorious sunny Saturday, everything was heaving. There was a small athletic meeting on the green area, a helicopter giving joy rides and lots of bars and restaurants. I found a classy looking fish restaurant which I thought would do for Sunday dinner and had a small, very cold, beer at a bar.

I continued along the front to the next pier, which mainly featured car parks and a large restaurant, before returning to the main shopping area to visit the big supermarket for some food supplies. I did find some more interesting food shops later on but, by then, it was too late.

I returned to the motel for a long rest. Getting up at 03.30 is a bit of a shock to the system and it was also very hot by now.

The fenced off swimming area	Family bbqs at the bottom of the hill

By 16.30 I felt awake enough to venture outside again so pointed myself at the sea and walked downhill, curling down the cliff on a windy path. At the bottom was an area of grass busily occupied by family parties having picnics and barbecues.

The sand was white, there were lots of people enjoying it and there was also an enclosed swimming area, painted a rather bright red.

The sun was still quite hot although a breeze had appeared, meaning that I had to hang on to my hat on several occasions.

A fine Ferris wheel	It towered over the scene

The big wheel looked to be of an old design but was also brightly painted. It didn't appear to be revolving but towered over the scene.

There are lots of street sculptures here. Many take the form of bollard statues, often of life guards or people in Victorian dress. There were also others, quite interesting, but without any information regarding the sculptor, the meaning or what they commemorated.
Modern sculptures	Lots of "bollard" ones

My plan for the evening was to have a pub steak. Tomorrow, when I hope to have had a decent night's sleep, I will find a posh fish dinner. The nearest pub that I had located to the motel, the Sir Charles Darling, offered lots of steaks so I ordered one and some beer to accompany it.

The Scotch fillet was excellent. Tender and full flavoured. The salads fresh and the chips were far better than average. The price was high, of course. This is Australia! I paid the bill and walked the short distance back to the motel.

An excellent Scotch fillet	A shame it was derelict

En route, I passed a couple of beautiful old villas. One of them was boarded up and the other looked as if it should be. A shame, as they were beautiful buildings.